Wesley Medical Center announces rebranding, new name for Galichia Heart Hospital

The Wichita community has long referred to the Wesley enterprise as simply Wesley.

And Tuesday, Wesley Medical Center announced that it will call itself Wesley, too.

The Wesley enterprise renamed itself as Wesley Healthcare, and the former Galichia Heart Hospital will now operate under the name Wesley Woodlawn Hospital & ER.

“It was a little confusing for the population that was not seeking heart care,” Wesley CEO Bill Voloch said of the multiple services at the Woodlawn campus.

The rebranding brings all of the Wesley facilities under one Wesley umbrella: Wesley Medical Center, Wesley Woodlawn Hospital & ER, Wesley West ER & Diagnostic Center, WesleyCare Clinics and the soon-to-be Wesley Children’s Hospital and Wesley Derby ER.

Voloch said Wesley decided to unveil the new brand Sept. 1 to allow four full months of transition to the new brand by Jan. 1.

Nick Adams, vice president of marketing and public relations for Wesley Healthcare, said the rebranding originated from market research for Wesley Children’s Hospital.

Adams said the researchers found the Wesley name was well respected, and with Wesley’s many additions to its brand this year, he said they wanted to emphasize the Wesley name.

Wesley underwent many changes this year with the ongoing Children’s Hospital project, announcement of a new Wesley Derby ER, expansion of the Wesley West ER and now the rebranding of Woodlawn Hospital & ER.

“It’s been a very exciting year, and this sums up that growth,” Adams said. “We’re different than we were a year ago. We needed some naming and branding that reflects that.”

He said the research group and Wesley tested brand names with patients in person and online. He said alternatives to the Woodlawn name included directional names, such as Wesley East or Northeast, to contrast the Wesley West ER.

But he said the specificity of Wesley Woodlawn Hospital & ER resonated well with patients.

Joseph Galichia, a board-certified doctor for cardiovascular disease and internal medicine, founded Galichia Heart Hospital in 2001. He expanded its services over the years, including the emergency room, before he sold the hospital to Wesley in 2012.

Galichia still practices cardiology at the hospital, which houses Galichia Medical Group. He said he still owns the building and land, which he rents to Wesley.

He said Wesley approached him about the name change roughly a month ago. But he said he could tell it was coming because of changes at the hospital.

“There was a general trend to see the institution develop into something different: less emphasis on cardiology and perhaps more emphasis on emergency services,” he said.

Adams, the Wesley spokesman, said the name change was not to distance Wesley from the Galichia name. Instead, he said, it was to more clearly communicate the ownership and breadth of the hospital beyond heart services.

Adams said Wesley is finalizing a new sign with a vendor, which should be installed in four to six weeks. He said the rest of the logos – like letterheads, business cards and signs in the building – will be slowly replaced through attrition.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 10:14 AM with the headline "Wesley Medical Center announces rebranding, new name for Galichia Heart Hospital."